South Africa's wing Kurt-Lee Arendse breaks clear to score a try during the match between New Zealand and the Springboks at Twickenham Stadium. Photo: AFP / Adrian Dennis
Opinion - It is fair to say that went about as badly as possible. What was supposed to be a warm-up game turned into a disaster for the All Blacks as they were not only beaten 35-7 by the Springboks, but also suffered key injuries and are sweating on the judicial fate of one of their form players.
Oh yeah, and the World Cup starts in a fortnight.
Did the result of this game matter? Well no, insofar as no one from New Zealand or South Africa would care if their side went on to win the World Cup, but getting through it unscathed did. Instead, there's now a crisis in the tight five and a performance that was so bad it deserves a full inquisition anyway.
Just to put this in perspective: this was the All Blacks' worst loss in 131 years.
How the All Blacks went from being so good in their five test wins this year, arguably making them the form side in the world, to the absolute rabble that looked like they'd all just met each other in the car park before the game is a tough one to answer.
Ian Foster did his best, saying that they kept allowing the Springboks to simply bully them into living in their 22, and string of penalties were the main reasons as to why they just couldn't even get their hands on the ball.
"We were hanging in there and didn't get a chance to put them under pressure. I would rather be having these lessons now than in a couple of weeks, though," he said.
New Zealand lock Scott Barrett leaves the pitch after being sent off with a red card during the match against South Africa at Twickenham. Photo: AFP / Adrian Dennis
Foster is right, but the fall from grace from where the All Blacks were just an hour and a half before he had to front the media is stunning. This was a side that had won five tests in a row this year, four very convincingly and the other with an admirable display of cohesion and fortitude to manufacture a result.
The situation was summed up by Richie Mo'unga, who has been otherwise unflappable in 2023, clanking an easy penalty goal attempt off the post and then the All Blacks fumbling the follow up.
Another man who has had an otherwise excellent season fell to bits in a more violent way. Scott Barrett's stupid hit on Pieter-Steph du Toit deserved a red, made stupider by the fact that it's the second time he's done it in tests. The moment also stands as the only time worth mentioning the Barrett name in a match wrap, which says plenty about the contribution of his brothers.
Luke Jacobson was sacrificed to read just the second row, but he'd done little with his chance up until that point anyway. The main bit of positivity Foster focused on post-match was the defensive effort in the first 20 minutes, which admittedly was very staunch, however it doesn't mean a hell of a lot if you eventually get gashed for 35 in a record loss.
Kwagga Smith scores a try for South Africa during the pre-World Cup Rugby Union match between New Zealand and the Springboks at Twickenham. Photo: Ian Kington / AFP
Tyrel Lomax was forced from the field with an actual gash on his leg, the severity of which makes you wonder whether one of the Bok players had ice skates on instead of rugby boots.
But everything, from the faltering scrum to the ineffective counter attack to the absolutely shocking discipline, was a reason for the loss. This all needs to be fixed, and in a way that's different to before because if the Springboks can figure out how to subject the All Blacks to that sort of treatment, the French certainly will be able to as well. If they are going to play that poorly, Italy probably can too.
If there was one moment post-match that summed up the mood, it was out on the field. The beloved Siya Kolisi collected the sponsor's trophy and paid tribute to the massive amount of South African fans that had packed out Twickenham, and their reaction to their skipper was deafening roar. Sam Cane then tried the same but was met with silence, because all the All Black fans had left.
